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The former president of a Port Arthur chemical company has pleaded guilty to criminal charges for failing to properly protect employees from a deadly chemical and for making false statements. One of his employees was exposed to hydrogen sulfide and died on Dec. 18, 2008.

Bowman admitted that he did not properly protect employees from exposure to the hydrogen sulfide that killed truck driver Joey Sutter, according to a Department of Justice statement. Another truck driver, Charles Sittig, was killed by hydrogen sulfide on April 14, 2009.

Bowman also admitted that he directed employees to falsify transportation documents to conceal that wastewater was still going to a disposal facility that had demanded that stop after it discovered hydrogen sulfide in previous shipments, according to federal authorities.

“Bowman’s actions showed a preference for profit above the safety of his employees, putting them and the public in life threatening situations by not properly identifying the dangerous materials PACES was handling,” Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, said in a statement.

John M. Bales, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas said that “in this day and age, it seems inconceivable that workers would be exposed to the level of danger that was routine at PACES,”

“Mr. Bowman’s actions as the leader of the company were more than just cavalier, they were criminal and he is being held to account,” Bales said. “We continue to grieve for the needless loss of life and the pain and suffering of Mr. Sutter’s family and friends.